RS

MEMBER DIARY

Is it time for Speaker Boehner to go?

The Speaker of the Republican House of Representatives, has proposed on BEHALF OF US, citizens represented by Republican Congressmen and women, a tax raise of $800 Billion dollars.

That is all you need to know. But I’ll tell you more anyway.

The main fight is over the fact that President Obama insists on raising tax rates on successful people from a little over 1/3 of their income to nearly 49% of their income. Republicans have rightly opposed such a tax increase on Americans best poised to invest their money in creating new jobs.

Unfortunately, that line in the sand won’t cut it for the Speaker. He has instead suggested that to save these tax breaks, we should take tax breaks away from other Americans. He wants to cut out middle class tax cuts. Thus far, the cuts have remained ambiguous but we all know he is talking about deductions for the needy. And when I say the “needy,” I don’t mean people who aren’t working that need help. I’m talking about Americans who are producing wealth, with a portion of that wealth being taken through taxation, then receiving back a smaller portion of the wealth they created in the first place.

We know that the Speaker of the House is more impotent than any Speaker in modern history. I say this based on his inability to deliver votes and negotiate in good faith. Boehner has put in his time in leadership but his style and ideas are out of step with the American people. Now, more than ever, it is becoming apparent that this speaker’s ideology and policy goals are out of line with – not only the party faithful, but the electorate and the base. He is a leader without followers.

Let’s be clear about the severity of this issue. We have seen the GOP sell social conservatives down the river before. We have seen them wave goodbye to civil liberties. We’ve stood by helplessly as they’ve assaulted federalism and small government. We watched the GOP increased deficits and borrow more money than we could ever pay back. But in twenty years, no republican leader has offered a tax hike. Mr. Boehner has now broken that streak.

He believes that his legacy is now on the line and that the President holds all the cards. He doesn’t believe in GOP victory, he only hopes the President will take his Democrat-lite plan. He has bought into the idea of losing. That’s dangerous because whichever side loses this debate will lose support in the polls.

If the GOP raises taxes on Americans by eliminating breaks that we rely on or by raising rates, they are no longer fit to have the letter “R” behind their name. This is the party’s sacred cow and even if reasonable people were willing to trade $10 in cuts for $1 in revenue . . .

…

We.

Aren’t.

Even.

Close.

Meanwhile, Boehner has stripped conservatives of Committee assignments because they wouldn’t go along with Obama and him on terrible spending deals over the past two years. Specifically, as Eric Erickson has pointed out, “Congressmen Schweikert, Amash, and Congressman Tim Huelskamp [have] now [been] removed from the Budget Committee [] for daring to defy John Boehner during the debt ceiling fight.”

What benefit does Speaker Boehner offer to Republicans in Congress? He can’t lead, he can’t negotiate in good faith, he isn’t an uncanny fundraiser. To be honest, Eric Cantor waiting in the wings isn’t any better, but the time has come for Boehner to go. His leadership offers no tangible benefit to the American people.

Boehner’s vision doesn’t represent the views of the majority of the caucus and the President can’t seriously hang his hat on anything Boehner negotiates away anymore.

We should be sincerely concerned about Boehner’s ability to lead his party – OUR PARTY and seriously consider a more appropriate alternative, not because Cantor or McCarthy are worth fighting for, but because what we have isn’t working.